The event focused on presenting projects, welcoming new groups, and reviewing the activities of the CARE program, established in 2022 to connect research teams at Can Ruti Campus, promote shared resource use, and drive translational projects. Supported by the IGTP in collaboration with Hospital Germans Trias, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute, IrsiCaixa, and the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the program facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration.
The IV CARE Annual Meeting, held at the Badalona Centre Internacional de Negocis (BCIN), was divided into two sessions: basic research in the morning and clinical aspects in the afternoon. Following the welcome by co-directors Mireia Margelí and Eduard Serra, new groups such as REPAIR, VITI, NeoVaCan, and VIC were introduced. Predoctoral researchers Laura Torres and Angèlica Ferrando presented their work in basic and clinical research.
The keynote lecture was delivered by Rodrigo de Almeida Toledo, a researcher from the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, who discussed the development of liquid biopsy biomarkers for immunotherapy. During the lunch break, a poster session allowed for idea exchange, following a flash talk session the previous day at the IGTP.
The afternoon session included an update on the CARE program by its co-directors, reviewing activities, indicators, and working groups. Subsequently, a panel discussion on surgical services took place, moderated by Mireia Margelí and Miguel Ángel Peinado, with contributions from Pedro Enrique López de Castro, Sergio Martínez, Lidia Blay, Gemma Viñas, Edurne Pedrosa, and Silvia Comas.
The new Northern Catalonia Integrated Oncological Consortium (NordCat-CCC) was presented, led by Ricard Mesía and Mireia Margelí. This alliance between healthcare and research institutions in Badalona and Girona aims to integrate oncology care, research, innovation, and training. Finally, the award for the best poster was presented to Aida Font, a predoctoral researcher from the Genetics and Epigenetics of Cancer group at the IGTP, for her work on an Epstein-Barr Virus-positive gastric cancer organoid.
The meeting concluded with remarks from Mireia Margelí and Eduard Serra, reinforcing CARE's annual meeting as a vital platform for the oncology research community at Can Ruti Campus.
